In modern manufacture and testing of semi-conductor devices, inspection systems are employed at various stages to locate and assess defects of a sample such as, but not limited to, a silicon wafer or a mask. According to various systems and methods known in the art, the sample may be illuminated utilizing a large pupil aperture such that defect information associated with illumination reflected, scattered, or radiated from the sample includes averaged content from all scattering angles. Information content from angles at which a sample defect strongly scatters illumination may be substantially attenuated as a result of the averaging, leading to a loss of inspection resolution. There is a need in the art for systems and methods of inspecting a sample without the foregoing limitations.